Cybersecurity Encyclopedia

What is a Third-Party Risk? Third-party risk is the possible risks or threats resulting from interactions with external parties. In every business, there are third-party partners, such as suppliers and contractors. Each of the eternal parties represents a security risk to the company. Third-party risks can affect an organization’s customer and employee data, IT networks, and financial information. Key Takeaways Third-party risk is the possible risks or threats resulting from interactions with external parties. Third-parties with inadequate security introduce risks to your organization. Managing third-party risks is essential to protecting your business from external attacks. Third-parties with access to the … Read more

What is a Virtual Private Network (VPN)? A virtual private network (VPN) is a software or hardware device that creates a private network, giving you online privacy and anonymity in a public network. A VPN masks your internet protocol (IP) address to make it difficult to trace your online activities. Besides, a VPN establishes a secure and encrypted connection to secure your information and systems from frequent and sophisticated cyber threats. Key Takeaways A VPN gives you privacy and anonymity by enabling a private network in the public internet The appliance masks your IP address, making you online activities difficult … Read more

What is a Virus? A computer virus is a malicious program that spreads from host to host. These harmful programs can replicate and spread through files and documents. Viruses have existed for decades. The first virus was created in 1971. Hackers design and distribute viruses to alter the way a computer works. The malware inserts or attaches itself to a legitimate program or document that supports macros to execute its code. A virus causes adverse impacts on computers, such as disrupting regular system operations, logging keystrokes, spamming your email contacts, stealing sensitive information, or destroying data. Key Takeaways A virus … Read more

What is a Vulnerability? A vulnerability is a weakness that cybercriminals can exploit to gain unauthorized access to information or perform illegal actions on a computer system. According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the weakness can be in an information system, system security procedures, internal controls, or implementation that threat sources could trigger and exploit. Vulnerabilities give hackers leeway to run malicious code, access computer memory, install malware, and steal or destroy sensitive information. Key Takeaways A vulnerability is a weakness that cybercriminals exploit to gain unauthorized access to systems and information Hackers connect to a … Read more

What is a Worm? A worm in cybersecurity is a standalone malware computer program that replicates itself to spread from one computer to other devices. A worm leverages security loopholes to access a target system. Once a worm reaches one computer in a network, it uses the machine as a host to scan and infect other computers. It uses a computer network to spread. Key Takeaways A worm is a malware program that self-replicates to spread from one device to another A worm relies on the security gaps to reach a target system The malicious program uses a computer network … Read more

What is a Zero-Day Vulnerability? A software vendor might discover a software security flaw but does not have a patch to fix it. The bug is known as a zero-day vulnerability. Since the developer has just found the flaw, they have zero-days to fix the problem to prevent hackers from exploiting it. Hackers can exploit and turn vulnerabilities into weapons. In case the software vendor fails to release a patch before cybercriminals manage to exploit the security gap, then a zero-day attack can occur. Once the software vendor announces a security patch, a bug is no longer a zero-day. The … Read more